Teaching Across Borders

December 6, 2012
By Stephanie Thara

CSU faculty pride themselves on passing the torch of knowledge on to future leaders. Each campus hosts an array of talented individuals who take their specialties and develop educational curriculum in other countries.

During summer and winter breaks, Nhut Ho—an associate professor of mechanical engineering at CSU Northridge—travels regularly to Vietnam to work with Vietnamese educators on revamping the country’s higher education system and to raise its level of standards.

In addition to developing strategic plans for educational reform, hosting training workshops, teaching classes and translating textbooks into Vietnamese, he has helped universities adopt the Conceive-Design-Implement-Operate Model. The CDIO Model provides students with an education that focuses on applying engineering fundamentals to real-world systems and products. For the past four years, Ho has worked with government and university officials to change the higher education culture in Vietnam.

“This, on a personal level, is a way of doing something for the country and its young people,” Ho said. “…I think we’re making a difference for the better.”

In January, CSU Long Beach English lecturer LeeAnne Langton will help Tanzania develop its English language curriculum.

Langton has been selected for a 10-month Senior English Language Fellowship that will allow her to help establish a language teaching program at St. Augustine University in the East African country. Langton plans to tap her curriculum development skills to promote English language learning and enhance English teaching capabilities in Tanzania.

“I see this as an opportunity for the exchange of ideas,” she said. “I’m not going there to co-opt the university’s program with my program. I’m going there to bring any resources I have to assist with their needs.”

During her fellowship, Langton will present at English as a Second Language conferences, develop scholarships for teachers, create grants, participate as a plenary speaker, and be a key player in helping advance the English teaching curriculum in Tanzania.